


so i'm counting to fifteen

by abucketofwigs



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, everything that is in fanfiction, one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 13:11:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16995621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abucketofwigs/pseuds/abucketofwigs
Summary: Emma Nolan and Alyssa Greene deserve to be written about.





	1. Because you're Alyssa Greene

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I originally posted these on Tumblr. Thanks for reading! Title from "Heaven" by Troye Sivan. It's a great song. Various Chapter titles are based off of songs, or corny titles that come to my mind.

They’re parked off some side road that Emma learned to drive on. The last few weeks of winter are slowly mixing with the spring of March, causing the air around them to be colder as the sun sets. Inside Emma’s truck, though, is warm and comforting. Both girls are in their little world, doing homework on notebooks propped on their knees.

Alyssa’s phone lights up on the dash. She stops highlighting, leaning forward to scroll through the cheer squad group message she hates being in. Emma tries to not get distracted when their shoulders brush. 

“Everything okay?”

Alyssa frowns, “Everyone’s still talking about the prom and you.” She closes her notebook inside her textbook, pushing it down to the floorboard, “I wish people would just stop caring.”

Emma leans her head against the seat, “By people do you mean everyone or just your Mom?”

Mrs. Greene was the first person to show up at the school with picket signs and a bull horn. It didn’t take more than five minutes before other parents and students were next to her. Emma had never felt more defenseless before then. Alyssa watched helpless from the bleachers as her Mom yelled out various slurs and bible scriptures. 

“Both.” Alyssa sighs, locking her phone. She drops it on top of her books, “Why does everyone think that us going together is so wrong? So what if we’re two girls. We’re-”

Emma reaches over, twisting their fingers together. She feels like she’s going to be sick, and Alyssa’s face just keeps getting redder the more she talks about this whole situation. 

“Hey, breathe, okay? Just give it a few weeks and this will all blow over. A new big drama thing will sweep in and they’ll forget all about prom.” Emma waves her arms around, shaking her shoulders in any attempt to get Alyssa to smile, “It’s going to be okay.”

Alyssa squeezes her hand, “It’s already been a week. This is all my fault anyway-”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yes it is.” Alyssa furrows her eyebrows in that way that Emma’s noted all Greene women to do. It happens when they’re frustrated, really frustrated. “It was my idea for us to come out at prom in the first place.”

“But I asked you to go and I’m the one who tried to buy the tickets. I set things in motion.”

Alyssa shakes her head, loose strands of hair falling in her face. The air in the truck is heavier; almost unbearable.

“Because I asked you, too.” Alyssa’s lips quiver, “I need to get outta here.”

Emma scrambles to follow her out of the truck. Alyssa crosses her arms, wind blowing her hair over her shoulder. Emma takes off her jacket wrapping it around Alyssa’s shoulders. Emma moves to step around her, rubbing her hands up and down Alyssa’s arms.

“It’s already been a week and the PTA isn’t letting up.” Alyssa wipes at her eyes.

Emma slides her hands over Alyssa’s hips, pulling her closer. 

“Then we’ll make a prom of our own. Stop beating yourself up over this; none of this is your fault.”

“You’re right it’s my Mom’s.” Alyssa shakes her head. Emma brushes her hair back, wipes at the tears rolling down Alyssa’s cheeks. “God, Emma how can you still want to be around me after everything she’s done? After everything she’s said? How can you still want to be with me when all I can give you are secret meetings and promises that one day I’ll be ready to come out to the world with you? How can you even look at me?”

Emma shrugs, brushing her thumb across Alyssa’s cheek. She’s got a dumb small smile across her face like this is the easiest conversation they’ve ever had. It’s not. It won’t be the hardest either. 

“Because you’re Alyssa Greene.”

She says it like Alyssa’s worth everything she’s already been through. She says it in such a way that Alyssa almost believes she’s worth all this hurt. 

  
  



	2. Then you came along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Emma posts her video before the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!

Alyssa doesn’t find Emma’s video on her own. 

She doesn’t spend hours refreshing her Twitter feed until one of the football guys posts the link on Twitter with an inappropriate caption. 

She doesn’t even look at Twitter. She completely dives into her homework to keep her Mom from yelling. All her Mom’s been doing lately is yelling. Alyssa can’t take it anymore. 

She does spend hours waiting for Emma to text her back.

Kaylee sends the video in the cheerleading group chat. The only thing she captions underneath it is a broken heart emoji. Alyssa’s never clicked on a message from them so fast. 

She’s fine until Emma mentions the court-mandated prom then the tears are rolling down her cheeks, and it feels like Emma’s broken up with her all over again. She doesn’t know if she can get the tears to stop this time. 

She texts Emma again. 

She cries some more.

Her phone lights up next to her. 

It isn’t Emma calling her. It’s Kaylee; Alyssa lets it go to voicemail.

**Kaylee: You okay?**

Alyssa stares at the message until her Mom barges in playing Emma’s video. 

She feels like this is the final battle of the war.

  
  



	3. these hallways know your secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaylee sees. It's hard not to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, so this one is inspired by a line in "Love Thy Neighbor" where Shelby mentions that Kaylee and Alyssa were once friends. This is also a deeper dive into character exploration of other characters outside the main cast. I am in no way defending Kaylee for her actions toward Emma in the play, or anything like that. The entire town of Heaven, Indiana (besides Mr. Hawkins and Granny Nolan) sucked. Anyway, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this, and yeah, it's a little out of character.

Kaylee’s not an idiot. 

She’s really not. 

Co-Captain of the cheer squad (next to Shelby)? Yes. 

One of the hottest girls in school (again, next to Shelby)? Yes.

Not always one hundred percent honest? Well, a little lie never hurt anyone.

Sometimes acts like a bitch? Okay, yeah, she’ll admit it. 

She’s all these things, but she’s definitely not an idiot. She sees things. She has to; being the most popular girl in school also means that she has to figure out every little thing going on at James Madison High. It’s not exactly the largest high school in Indiana, so it’s it’s not hard to keep up with her peers. Especially with how small the school hallway is. 

Kaylee sees it. 

You’d have to actually be blind to not see the way Alyssa Greene looks at Emma Nolan sometimes in class or in the hallways. Alyssa’s always the first person to tell them to back off Emma; always the first one to apologize when Principal Hawkins tells them they’ve gone too far. She notices the way Alyssa ducks her head when Mrs. Greene is preaching away about how “letting that girl take her homosexual  _ partner _ to the school dance would be going against every single one of God’s commandments, and not to mention poisoning the mind of our impressionable children.” Kaylee has to hold back her own eye roll during those speeches because they’re not kindergartners anymore. Whether she agrees with Emma’s sexuality or not, Mrs. Greene does push things too far. 

Kaylee sees Alyssa during the PTA meetings. Alyssa sits third row from the bottom on the bleachers; easy enough seat to find, but easy to hide between the other filled rows in front and behind her. She watches the way Alyssa’s hands shake; how she keeps her head ducked low during one of her Mom’s tangents, sometimes blinks too quickly when they’re walking out of the gym. Alyssa’s ashamed; afraid. It isn’t until one day when Kaylee turns around to see Emma Nolan staring at Alyssa, gripping tightly to the edge of the bleachers like all she wants to do is be there for the other girl, does it all really click what’s going on. 

Emma’s in love with Alyssa. Like  _ in love in love _ with her. 

What everyone forgets is that Kaylee knows Emma, too. They were friends once, before Emma decided to come out publicly. She didn’t out her, though, Shelby did, but of course that was only after Kaylee told her- that’s a whole different story. 

Anyway, she knows Emma; knows her favorite hideout spots at school, and favorite perfume, it’s not too sweet, but not too manish either. She notices Alyssa Greene sneak into the band closet where Emma Nolan practices guitar every day after school. She instantly picks up on Emma’s perfume when Alyssa rushes into cheer practice five minutes late. Alyssa’s all red cheeks and weighted shoulders like she’s been for the past few weeks, so Kaylee pretends she didn’t see. She pretends like she’s not carrying around someone else's secret.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading! My Tumblr is abucketofwigs

**Author's Note:**

> I love these two broadway nerds.


End file.
